March 15, 2007

Box Score

EIGHTH-INNING RALLY DRIVES UNI PAST MIAMI (OH) 10-7

 

BRADENTON, Fla. - A five-run eighth inning rally and a pair of home runs by Dane Embury and Jeremy Weih propelled the University of Northern Iowa baseball team to a 10-7 victory over Miami (OH). Embury and Weih combined to drive in seven runs and were instrumental in the eight-run offensive surge in the seventh and eighth innings.

 

Brett Featherston (Epworth, Iowa/Western Dubuque) scored on an Eric Hoffmann (Erskine, Minn./Win-E-Mac) sacrifice fly in the second to give the Panthers an early 1-0 advantage.

 

Starter Aaron Jenkins (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park) sat down three straight RedHawk batters in the top of the third after Brandon Hillier doubled to start the inning. Jenkins struck out the final two batters of the inning to leave Hillier stranded at third and protect the lead.

 

Deric Manrique (Sioux City, Iowa/North) drove in Travis Hendrix (Sonora, Calif./Sonora) with a bounding single that bounced over the third baseman and gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead in the third.

 

Jenkins held the lead until the sixth when the RedHawks tied the game with a two-run home run to left-centerfield. Miami tallied three more runs in the inning, including two on a triple to centerfield. Jenkins ceded the game to Adam McDermott (Cascade, Iowa/Cascade) in the fifth, but not before sitting down 11 RedHawk batters on strikes.

 

Tim Flattery (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond) pitched the seventh and allowed a run, but Jeremy Weih, (Wilton, Iowa/Wilton) crushed a Jeff Day offering over the left-centerfield wall for his first home run as a Panther. The shot cut Miami's lead to three, but the Panther offense wasn't done just yet.

 

Manrique sparked a two-out rally with a single to centerfield. Brandon Douglas (St. Charles, Iowa/I-35) followed suit and Featherston walked to load the bases. Embury (Kelowna, British Colombia/Kelowna) drove a two-run single to center, scoring Manrique and Douglas and bringing the Panthers within one. A Hoffmann single reloaded the diamond, but the Panthers left the sacks packed and ended the inning still trailing by one, 6-5.

 

Weih rectified that with an eighth-inning RBI double down the right field line that scored Hendrix and tied the game at six. Weih scored the go-ahead run four batters later when Featherston drove an RBI single to left field, putting the score at 7-6. Embury blew the game open with a three-run shot to left field, scoring Featherston and Manrique and putting the score at 10-6 entering the ninth.

 

Jason Barry (Chilliwack, Canada) entered in the ninth and allowed a run, but slammed the door on the Miami rally to earn his third save of the year.

 

Jenkins rang up 11 RedHawks on strikes in his second start in Florida this season. The allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits and walked two for a no-decision. His record remains at 1-0. Bryan Westphal (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) earned the win after throwing a scoreless eighth. The win was his first of the year and moved his record to 1-0 on the season.

 

Embury led the offense with a career-high five RBIs. The Panther right-fielder finished the game 4-5 with a home run and one run scored and raised his already team-high average to .392. Hoffmann ended his day 3-3 with an RBI. The Panther DH is 7-9 in his last three games. Weih drove in the tying run, scored the go-ahead run and went 2-4 with a home run and two RBIs. As a team, the Panthers scored 10 runs on 14 hits.

 

The win puts UNI back at .500 at 8-8 on the season. Miami falls to 4-7 on the year.

 

The Panthers meet Army tomorrow at Academy Park. First pitch is at 2:00 central time.